Adjustable supporting device



- tioned in the same plane and United States 2,865,696 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING DEVICE Alfred Mooser, Bern, Switzerland Application December 13, 1955, Seriai No. 552,914

Claims priority, application Switzerland December 15, 1954 Claims. (Cl. 311=-35) The present invention relates to an adjustable supporting device, particularly for a piece of furniture, for instance a table, a chair, a stand, a garden shade and the like, comprising a top member and two pairs of supports to stand on the ground, one pair of supports being rigidly fixed to said top member and the other pair of supports being turnably attached to said top member or to a portion of the piece of furniture so as to enable the latter to stand automatically with all four supports on the ground, even if the ground is not plane.

One embodiment of the invention comprises two movable wedges arranged for counteraction at a distance from the axis of rotation of the turnable pair of supports and between the latter and the top member or remaining portion of, the piece of furniture, said wedges having a self-locking pitch and being adapted to lock the turnable pair of supports in any position relative to the top member and to be temporarily moved into a releasing position for permitting pivotal adjustment of the turnable pair of supports.

Another embodiment of the device as set forth comprises rotary wedges or cams each of which is governed by a torsion spring.

The accompanying drawing bodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a table;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the frame of the table shown in Figure 1, the table top having been removed therefrom;

Figs. 3 and 4 are partial front views showing the turnable pair of supports in two different locked positions, and Fig. 5 is a partially sectional view in the same direction as Fig. 1 showing certain details at larger scale.

The four-footed table comprises a table top carried by a frame which is equipped with two pairs of supports 11 and 12, each support consisting of a flat tube and having a foot 13. The top ends of the supports 11 are directly connected to a crosstie tube 14 and indirectly by means of two diagonal bars 15 and the tube 14 to a centrally located tube 16. Two angle brackets 17 are fixed to the ends of tube 14 and an angle iron 18 is fixed to the end of tube 16 remote from tube 24, these brackets 17 and angle iron 18 having one of their upper flanges posithe table top it) is secured thereon by means of screws 19. Also the top ends of the supports 12 are directly connected to a crosstie tube 20 and indirectly by means of two diagonal bars 21 and the tube 20 to a centrally located tube 22 which is turnable on tube 16 between the angle iron 18 and a stop ring 23 fixed on tube 16. The pair of supports 12 together with bars 21 and tubes 20 and 22 form a unitary structure which may turn about tube 16 relative to the remaining portions of the table. This enables the table to adjust its position automatically so as to stand with all four supports 11 and 12 on the ground, even if the same is not plane.

Near both ends the tube 29, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, is horizontally traversed by two short tubes 24 at equal illustrates a preferred em- Z,8fi5,695 QQ Patented Dec. 23, 1958 distance from the common axis of tubes 16 and 22. In

each tube 24 is pivoted a swivel pin 25 which has secured thereon a rotary wedge disk or cam 26 and at the outer end a handle 27. The contours of the two rotary wedges or cams are equally shaped and the part thereof forming the wedge or cam surface has a self-locking pitch. Each wedge disk or cam cooperates at its periphery with a wart-like boss 28 projecting downwardly from the upper flange of the angle iron 18, substantially in the vertical plane which contains the axis of pin 25. The inner end of the pin 25 carries a torsion spring 29 one end of which is secured to the pin and the other to the adjacent bar 21. The spring 29 is tensioned so as to apply a torque to the wedge disk or cam 26 in the direction in which the effective height of the wedge or cam increases, the wedges or cams being thus arranged for acting in directions opposite to each other with respect to the axis of tubes 16 and 22. A substantially semi-circular extension 36 of tube 24 protrudes axially into the rotary path of a stop pin 31 which projects radially from pin 25 in order to prevent complete release of spring 29.

The rotary action of the tension spring 29 tends to keep the wedge disk .or cam 26 in a position wherein the disk periphery contacts the corresponding boss 28 in self-locking manner. When in practice the table is rocking due the fact that only three of four supports 11 and 12 stand on the ground, this deficiency can be eliminated by means of the described rotary wedge or cam device in the following manner:

The two handles 27 are simultaneously turned by hand in clockwise direction as seen in Figures 3 and 4 so that the disk or cam periphery will be disengaged from the respective boss 28. This temporary disengagement between the turnable pair of supports 12 and the remain" ing portion of the table leads to an automatic pivotal adjustment between the two pairs of supports 11 and 12 whereby also the fourth support is caused to stand on the ground. On release of the handles disks or cams 26 will be turned by the respective spring 29 into the position wherein they contact again the respective boss 28 and establish thereby a locking position of one of the two pairs of supports with respect to the other. The effect of an automatic adjustment of one pair of supports relative to the other one after disengage ment of the wedge disks or cams and the new locking positions of the latter may be seen from Figs. 3 and 4.

It is possible to arrange the two spring governed wedge disks or cams coaxially for being disengaged from locking position by a common shaft having a catch for each disk. On release of such shaft each wedge disk or cam will return into the individual locking position which is determined by the distance between the respective contacting boss and the axis of the disks.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and herein described, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the general scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Adjustable supporting device comprising, in com bination, a horizontal top member; a first pair of legs downwardly projecting from said top member and having a pair of free ends for engaging the ground; a second pair of legs having another pair of free ends for engaging the ground, and a connecting member connecting the upper ends of the second pair of legs to form a unitary structure; pivot means connecting the center of said connecting member with the table top member for relative turning movement about a horizontal axis; a pair of wedge means respectively secured to one of said members for movement between a releasing position permitting turning of said connecting member with said second legs to an adjusted position inwliich the four free ends of said legs simultaneously engage the ground, and a holding position abutting against said top member and said connecting member so that said connecting member and said second legs are immovably held in said adjusted position; and spring means interposed between said wedge means and one of said members for moving said wedge means into said holding position.

2. Adjustable supporting device comprising, in combinatio-n, a horizontal top member; a first pair o'r legs downwardly projecting from said top member and having a pair of free ends for engaging the ground; a second pair of legs having another pair of free ends for engaging the ground, and a connecting member connecting the upper ends of the second pair of legs to form a unitary structure; pivot means connecting the center of said connecting member with the table top member for relative turning movement about a horizontal axis; and a pair of cam means respectively secured to one of said members for turning movement between a releasing position permitting turning of said connecting member with said second legs to an adjusted position in which the four free ends of said legs simultaneously engage the ground, and a holding position abutting against said top member and said connecting member so that said connecting member and said second legs are immovably held in said adjusted position; and spring means interposed between said cam means and one of said members for moving said cam means into said holding position.

3. Adjustable supporting device comprising, in combination, a horizontal top member; a first pair of legs downwardly projecting from said top member and having a pair of free ends for engaging the ground; a second pair of legs having another pair of free ends for engaging the ground; and a connecting member connecting the upper ends of the second pair of legs to form a unitary structure; pivot means connecting the center of said connecting member with the table top member for relative turning movement about a horizontal axis; a pair of wedge means respectively secured to one of said members for movement between a releasing position permitting turning of said connecting member with said second legs to an adjusted position in which the four free ends of said legs simultaneously engage the ground,

and a holding position abutting against said top member and said connecting member so that said connecting member and said second legs are fixedly secured to said top member in said adjusted position, said Wedge means being independently movable and located on opposite sides of said pivot means; and spring means interposed between said wedge means and one of said members for moving said wedge means into said holding position.

4. Adjustable supporting device comprising, in combination, a horizontal top member; a first pair of legs downwardly projecting from said top member and having a pair of free ends for engaging the ground; a second pair of legs having another pair of free ends for engaging the ground, and a connecting member connecting the upper ends of the second pair of legs to form a unitary structure; pivot means connecting the center of said connecting member with the table top member for relative turning movement about a horizontal axis; a pair of cam means respectively secured to one of said members for turning movement between a releasing position permitting turning of said connecting member with said second legs to an adjusted position in which the four free ends of said legs simultaneously engage the ground, and a holding position abuting against said top member and said connecting member so that said connecting member and said second legs are fixedly secured to said top member in said adjusted position, said cam means being independently turnable and located on opposite sides of said pivot means; and spring means interposed between said cam means and one of said members for moving said cam means into said holding position.

5. Adjustable supporting device comprising, in combination, a horizontal top member; a first pair of legs downwardly projecting from said top member and having a pair of free ends for engaging the ground; a second pair of legs having another pair of free ends for engaging the ground, and a connecting member connect ing the upper ends of the second pair of legs to form unitary structure; pivot means connecting said connecting member with the table top member for relative turning movement about a horizontal axis; a pair of cam means respectively secured to one of said members for turning movement between a releasing position per mitting turning of said connecting member with said second legs to an adjusted position in which the four free ends of said legs simultaneously engage the ground, and a holding position abutting against said top member and said connecting member so that said connecting member and said second legs are fixedly secured to said top emberin said adjusted position, said cam means being independently turnable and located on opposite sides of said pivot means; and spring means interposed between said cam means and one of said members for moving said cam means into said holding position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS 

